


seven days of summer | HIATUS

by orphan_account



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Friends to Lovers, Light Angst, M/M, Songfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:27:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23566816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: “Speaking of moving, why are you back here anyways? You gonna be here for long?”“Ah, I just wanted to,” Tooru’s voice trailed for a moment, his eyes looking somewhere distant, “Visit my family that’s all. It’s just for a week,” Tooru’s voice was still as delicate as ever, but there was this false sense of happiness that seemed to mask something that Hajime knew better than to dig at.In other words, the fic where they only have one more week together, but Hajime doesn't know it.
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime & Oikawa Tooru, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	1. day 1

**Author's Note:**

> hello! thank you v much to my friends sofi and mia for supporting me <3 i have songs for every chapter, and you can find the link to them on the notes at the end, so pls listen to them, as i have also integrated several of the lyrics into the chapters :))

The sweltering heat made the button down stick to Iwaizumi Hajime’s back. Although his sleeves had been rolled to his elbows, it wasn’t as if it immediately made him invincible to the humid weather. He had hoped that the night would bring cooler winds, but he was mistaken. His khaki slacks had been doing him no favors either, a pool of sweat building near his thighs. On the bright side, the interview seemed to go well! Or, he had hoped. Hajime had already changed majors _five_ times before settling on sports therapy, and it wasn’t as if the additional four years he had added to his university years was cheap. And so here he was, fresh out of his third-to-last semester, looking for a summer job in Sendai, even if it was just a small barista job for the remainder of the summer. 

He wasn’t all excited to be home, he’ll admit. Stares from the local gossipping women weren’t helpful, and neither was the nagging from his mother to “Hurry up and date already because she wanted to have grandchildren.” Hajime was only 27, not even that old, but the pressure to find himself a potential wife was looming over him. He rolled his shoulders back, only then realizing how tense he had been. He stretched his fingers on his knees until his knuckles were stained white. He stood up to take a walk to clear his head. 

Right now, there was nothing more in the world that he wanted to do to wake up all of a sudden and just be the carefree eighteen-year-old he was nine years ago. To spend the summers with toes curled in the warm sand, the weight of a volleyball landing on his forearms. To carelessly drink alcohol that one of his friends, usually Mattsun, had snuck from his parents, and having found himself sprawled on the couch of said friend’s house the next morning with a demonic hangover pounding in his head. To spend the afternoons lying in bed with his only thought being whether or not he would be awake before 13:00 the next day. To lazily lounge with his fingers tangled in the messy mop of hair that was Oikawa Tooru as they watched another poorly-budgeted alien horror film on his couch. 

_Tooru_ . It had been years since they had seen one another. Or moreso, since Tooru had seen _him._ It was hard to miss when your childhood best friend had become a social media sensation/model overnight. Posters of him lined the windows of nearly every major retailer in sight. His fame spawned from a small shoot, for a university friend Hajime assumed. He hadn’t quite remembered exactly what else Tooru had been wearing, but whatever it was had been matched with a pair of very telling grey sweatpants. This famous (or moreso infamous in Hajime’s eyes) photoshoot had acquitted quite the response from a handful of his darling admirers that his face had become the most noticeable in the entirety of Japan, maybe even the world, in the blink of an eye. He moved to Tokyo shortly after that, and their friendship began to dwindle into nothingness. 

Hajime hadn’t noticed his feet had led him to a park just on the edge of town. It wasn’t extravagant, it was just an average green field and benches dotted around sporadically. But it was where some of his fondest childhood memories of catching bugs and playing volleyball until the night grew had been made. He let himself rest on a bench again, sighing as he leaned back.

“Hey you! Scrawny motherfucker with the cool hairstyle!” A voice from the distance called out, and Hajime turned his head so fast he thought it would snap. The person was barrelling straight towards him, features indiscernible behind large sunglasses and a face mask that had been pulled down to his chin. Hajime had skipped a couple days at the gym, but that callout was far from necessary. He opened his mouth to retort, but the person had slowed to a jog before stopping and giving him a once over and tipping his sunglasses as if to study Hajime. 

“I take it back, you are far from scrawny,” The stranger wolf-whistled, “And your hair too, Jesus when was the last time you cut it,” The man’s voice trailed off as his fingers danced through Hajime’s hair, and Hajime swatted away the unwanted, yet eerily familiar calloused hands.

“What the fuck are you doing, and who the hell are you?” Hajime jumped away before receiving a dainty chuckle from the man.

“Relax, Iwa-chan, it’s just me,” The stranger dipped his sunglasses down in a swift movement, before winking and pulling them back up. 

It was Tooru. 

Hajime was at a loss for words, his mouth hanging agape. The mop of dark mousy hair was tucked neatly and effortlessly underneath a baseball cap, but the tilt in his voice and the hand on his hip made it hard for Hajime to believe that he had almost forgotten his own best friend. 

“No need to be so starstruck,” Tooru flipped his hair, although there wasn’t much to work with, in a mocking manner. He turned in the direction he had come from, and his expression became clouded as squeals could be heard from the distance. With no explanation, Tooru took Hajime’s wrist and started sprinting in the opposite direction of the noise, and from his many years of knowing Tooru, it was best to do what he wanted first and ask questions later. 

The pair raced through the streets, shoving past innocent strangers, and Hajime had at least the decency to mumble an apology every few seconds. They ran until their stamina gave out, landing just outside a small ramen shop that smelled so greatly of seafood, Hajime could have sworn he heard the crabs still singing _Under the Sea._

“Care to explain why I just ran across the entirety of Sendai twice, shittykawa?” Hajime was panting, his hands sprawled on his knees that were about to give out. 

“Fangirls were chasing me down, the usual,” Tooru shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly before attempting to swipe his sunglasses down in the same manner, failing miserably by dropping them onto the cement. He scrambled to find them on the sidewalk, his tired state preventing him from seeing clearly. Hajime couldn’t help but notice that his friend had, well, _grown_? Was that the right word? Tooru’s ass was obviously far more perky than back in their seijoh days, although it wasn’t like Hajime had paid all that attention to his friend’s behind, but there was an awfully stark difference. 

“Did you get a butt job?” Hajime blurted without thought, before turning several shades red. Tooru’s eyes widened in much surprise, before giggling softly.

“Iwa-chan, are you staring at my ass? You haven’t even said a proper hello! But yes, you know how awfully self-conscious I was about it. Makki always said I was a pancake, and words hurt,” Tooru got back on his legs, and placed the back of his hand to his forehead for dramatic effect.

“I-I’m sorry for asking,” Hajime’s pink cheeks didn’t fade, and his friend had seemingly no intention of letting him live it down.

“You never had a sense of humor, did you? You’re still the ever-so serious Iwaizumi Hajime aren’t you? Even your sense of style has yet to change.” 

“I had an interview today, you piece of shit.”

“You would’ve gotten a lot of more girls in high school if you dressed better _and_ were less serious. I never liked your clothes, but I always liked your smile.”

  
Hajime didn’t know how to respond to that. It wasn’t everyday that Tooru gave him a _genuine_ compliment.

“And when did I ever smile? I barely had time to while I was running around being your babysitter.”

“Iwa-chan, always so mean!” Tooru crossed his arms and turned away in a playful huff, ” _But_ , you can salvage this reunion by treating me to dinner!” He clapped his hands together before dragging Hajime into the ramen shop, laughing like a toddler. 

*******

“Oi, since when were you vegan?” Hajime’s fingers toyed with his chopsticks, poking diligently at a mushroom floating in his soup. Tooru had been happily slurping away at his noodles, no meat or fish, just an array of vegetables that Hajime was certain the Tooru he had known would never eat unless forced down his throat. 

“Since I moved to Tokyo, Hajime. Living in the big city is really enlightening, y’know?” 

_Enlightenment?_ Hajime shook the thought and wondered if there was something in the city air that had brainwashed Tooru into giving up his favorite food.

“What about milk bread? You love that shit,” Hajime thought fondly of their many trips to a convenience store after practice, usually the Family Mart down the street from their school, and Oikawa would run in to get his usual, always making sure to rip off a piece and stuff it in Hajime’s face and complain that “Iwa-chan doesn’t eat enough”. 

“Everything comes at a price, Iwa-chan. Plus, there are many vegan alternatives I’ve been learning to make.”  
  


“ _You’re_ cooking? How have you not burned your apartment down?”

“Iwa,” Tooru placed his chopsticks gently down as he rested his palms flat on the table, “I’m not the same teenager from nine years ago that you need to babysit. Moving away from home has made me more independent, and I can take care of myself.” He pursed his lips for a moment before resuming his meal. 

“Speaking of moving, why are you back here anyways? You gonna be here for long?”

“Ah, I just wanted to,” Tooru’s voice trailed for a moment, his eyes looking somewhere distant, “Visit my family that’s all. It’s just for a week,” Tooru’s voice was still as delicate as ever, but there was this false sense of happiness that seemed to mask something that Hajime knew better than to dig at, “Anyways, how about you Iwa-chan? What brings you to Sendai?”

“University’s out for the summer and my mom was expecting me here so I just dropped by,” Hajime let the thought slip, Tooru’s gasp catching him by surprise.

“You’re still going to school? Are you becoming a doctor or something?”

“Nah, I was just really indecisive about my major,” Hajime rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, realizing how lame that had sounded, “I’m finally graduating next year, though.”

“Oh well that’s great! How’s everyone else doing? Are you still in touch with Makki and Mattsun?” 

“Yeah, we still text and stuff, but we haven’t had the chance to hang out yet.”

“We should do something tomorrow!” 

Hajime feared his ears had deceived him. Tooru _actually_ still wanted to hang out with them? He hasn’t exactly made the effort to keep in touch with his old friends, and a twinge of bitterness stung at him. After becoming a national celebrity, or whatever the hell you would call him, Tooru seemed to never bother to shoot even a single text their way. But at the same time, Hajime had been secretly longing for a reunion of their old friend group, and a part of him caved. 

“Yeah, that would be nice.”  
  
“Perfect! Give me your phone, I’ll give you my new number,” Hajime face palmed himself internally. Now that Tooru was famous, it made sense that he would change numbers. Nearly every girl at Seijoh had his phone number, and nearly every girl at Seijoh had their heart broken by him, so they could easily “accidentally” leak his number, causing great havoc. 

As Tooru punched the digits, Hajime finished his bowl and gathered his belongings, helping Tooru to his coat once he was done. Once they exited, the sky was an inky black, and a handful of stars danced across it. 

“Are you staying with your family?” Hajime asked as they began walking towards the nearest station.

“No, I have a hotel for the week. I’m visiting tomorrow, though,” Hajime was about to question, as Tooru had said he was staying here for family, but he kept mum. 

“I’ll drop you off,” He didn’t think much of it. Ever since they were kids, despite growing up on the same street, after school, a day at the park, or whatever the two had been up to that day, Hajime had grown a habit of always making sure that Tooru was home first. 

“Aww, my knight in shining armor!” Tooru grasped Hajime’s hands, slowly intertwining their fingers as they walked. They stepped in comfortable silence, their heavy breaths in sync with one another. 

“Is this it?” The pair found themselves just outside an enormous building, an anomaly for their small town. 

“Yep,” Tooru unclasped his hand, and turned to Hajime for a moment, and tugged him by the waist into a warm hug. He melted into it, before Tooru whispered a small, “Thank you,” the words ghosting on his ear and then onto his neck. They pulled apart, and Hajime rubbed the side of his neck subconsciously.

“You need me to walk you to your room?”

“Oh please do so, my brave knight. I’ve been having to sleep with the light on because I tend to freak myself out,” Tooru’s voice had this dramatic flair that was just _so_ him, and Hajime stifled a laugh.

“What is this? Did I make the stoic Iwaizumi Hajime express an _emotion_?” Hajime punched Tooru lightly in the arm, to which he responded with, “I have been wounded!”

“Oi, I’m not walking you to your room anymore, shittykawa. See you tomorrow,” Hajime offered a small salute, and Tooru stuck his tongue out playfully before waving in a hyper manner. 

**_Hajime_ ** _added +81(xxx)-xxx-xxxx_

_9:12 PM_

**Makki:** who tf is that

**Matsukawa:** hajime are u replacing us already

**Makki:** stop trying to find a new tooru

**+81(xxx)-xxx-xxxx:** what if i told you i was tooru aHa

**Makki:** as if r u dumb

**Matsukawa:** hajime who is this imposter

**Hajime:** It’s him

**Matsukawa:** asjdkslafjlsafjsfjlkas wHAT OIKAWA SIMCR WJEN

**Matsukawa:** did u stop texting us because u got a new phone number lmao

**Hajime:** He just wanted to escape all of his fangirls 

**+81(xxx)-xxx-xxxx:** ew iwa-chan still has auto caps on dis cos tang

**Makki:** lmao rite he already acts like a grandpa 

**+81(xxx)-xxx-xxxx:** iwa ever so kindly added me to this gc cause i wanna hang out w u losers again

**Matsukawa:** um ok 

**Makki:** i get to hang out with international supermodel oikawa tooru im blessed

**Hajime:** Stop making his head bigger than it already is

**+81(xxx)-xxx-xxxx:** iwa are u still salty that i paid for dinner instead of splitting? u couldve at least said ty 

**Makki:** u hung out without us r00d

**Matsukawa:** its ok makki were better than them 

**Makki:** damn right we r

**+81(xxx)-xxx-xxxx:** u guys wanna get coffee tom 

**Matsukawa:** we can go to that place makki was talking about yesterday

**Makki:** oml that one ill send u the address

_Attachment: 1 Location_

**+81(xxx)-xxx-xxxx:** kk bye losers i need my beauty sleep

**Me:** Bye

**Makki:** night night

**Matsukawa:** gn

_iMessage with Tooru <3 _

_00:13 AM_

**Tooru <3: **iwa-chan

**Tooru <3: **iwa-chan

**Tooru <3: **iwa-chan

**Me:** What do you want

**Tooru <3: **my mom called and asked if u wanted to come over tom w me cuz she hasn’t seen u in a long time

**Tooru <3:** pls say yes

**Tooru <3: **she also said u can sleep over 

**Me:** Um ok I’ll pack my bags ig

**Tooru <3: **yay! ok ill see u tom

**Tooru <3: **u like the heart i put by my name

**Me:** Go back to sleep dumbass

**Tooru <3: **ur not >:(

**Me:** I was but then you texted

**Tooru <3: **ok fine bye see u tom gn !

**Me:** Night

Hajime rolled over onto his side, shutting his phone off. He stared blankly at the ceiling and pulled his covers closer up to his neck despite the hot weather. It wasn’t long after until he had been lulled to sleep, the faint smell of fish still tickling his nose.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> scrawny- the wallows  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgOR698RMLY


	2. day 2

The afternoon sun leaked through the windows of the nearly empty cafe. A few patrons sprinkled here and there, the only real bustle coming from the occasional cheerful whistle and annoyed grunts from behind the counter. Hajime, as expected, was the third-to-last to arrive, followed shortly by a pair of hands clasping over his eyes. 

“Guess who?” The voice was tainted with this child like glee, and Hajime scoffed.

“My worst nightmare. Get your hands off, assikawa, they’re cold,” Hajime shrugged away the touch.

“And that’s why it’s perfect your fingers are like tiny saunas!” Tooru grabbed Hajime’s hands and locked them for a moment and swung them wide as they walked to the table where Makki and Mattsun had been waving. 

“Oi, stop flirting in front of my food,” Mattsukawa snapped, lifting up his coffee and croissant in separate hands. 

“Haha very funny, Mattsun. I see your eyebrows and your hair are still in as much need of a trim as your attitude!” Tooru shot up a peace sign and stuck his tongue between his teeth. 

“Listen here you, brat-” Mattsukawa stood up for a brief moment in a joking manner, before Tooru turned away in a huff.

“I’m going to go get something. Come on, Tooru.” Hajime noticed that Tooru had made the notion to stick his tongue out behind him at Matsukawa again, and the latter had rolled his eyes so far back Hajime could see the whites in them.

“Hello, welcome. What can I get for you today?” The monotone barista didn’t look up, his eyes remaining glued on the small screen in his hands. 

“Kenma, you’re gonna have to start treating the customers nicely or we aren’t going to be getting any,” A new employee sauntered over and spoke through gritted teeth. He tousled the bleached hair of his coworker, but was followed by a punch in the arm, “Sorry about that. What can I getcha?”

“I’ll have a latte with  _ tounyuu,  _ please.” Tooru tapped his chin slightly before an ever-so familiar, and dangerous glint, sparkled in his eyes. “Say you, with the black hair, what’s your name?”

“Me?” The one with the messy hair pointed to his chest. Tooru nodded. “I’m Kuroo?”

“Yeah.” Tooru gave the man a once over, and a small “tch” came from his tongue. “Have you thought about modeling before?” Hajime nearly spit out his non-existent drink. Why the hell was Tooru scouting now, and here of all places? Was he even  _ allowed  _ to scout?

“Uh, no? No one’s ever asked me to do that before?” His voice was shaking in uncertainty, and this was even more evident by his fingers awkwardly running through his hair. But there was also this sense of curiosity looming over him. 

“Ah, well today someone has. You have the looks, the height, and your  _ arms _ . Here’s my card,” Tooru slipped a small piece of what Hajime assumed was his number and other contact information, as he winked charmingly. “I can even get pudding locks in there if he toned his hair!” Hajime elbowed his friend, the callout (although true) being extremely rude. 

“I-I’ll think about it. Thank you,” Kuroo slipped the card into the pocket of his apron, rushing away to start on Tooru’s drink. 

“And for you?” The blonde one, seemingly unfazed about the whole interaction, called from behind the counter to Hajime. 

“Just an  _ aisu koh-hii _ ,” He muttered from underneath his breath, cursing his friend’s usual antics.

***

The rest of the afternoon was this hazy mush of old Seijoh stories and new ones of what they had been up to recently. Nostalgia hung in the air, and Hajime had laughed so much he felt his chest was about to give way and jump out of his body. 

Makki and Mattsun had both stayed in Sendai, being roommates since they got out of university. Both were employed with day jobs, the sort. But they were both living a comfortable life, and that was more than Hajime could say. Amidst his group of friends, he felt unsuccessful and lost in life. 

“And that’s when I decided to be a good friend and sneak out of my house, and I ran to Hajime’s house to make sure he was okay. He was awfully scared at the park, being alone and all,” Tooru crossed his arms, and Hajime’s mouth opened to protest. That was by far the most fabricated version Tooru had told anyone of how they had met. Hajime had hoped that Makki and Matsukawa and their shared brain cell could at least see through the lie, but they both were far too enveloped in their own fits of laughter to probably notice what a blatant falsehood this was. Hajime sighed, but didn’t press it further.

“You guys never fail to amaze me and your weird-ass stories. Do you, like, make up half of them?” Makki wiped tears coming from the corner of his eyes.

“Little do you know,” Hajime mumbled, just as Tooru had shook his head defiantly. Hajime toyed with a loose thread on the hem of his sweatshirt, trying to rack his brain with what had actually happened that night. It wasn’t like he occasionally had sleepless nights where he thought of every little scenario where everything could have played out differently, and what the hell this dumbass would be without him trailing after every little thing he’s ever done bites him back. 

Of course not.

Why would he?

But even as they pledged their goodbyes and parted ways into the growing darkness, Hajime sat silently on the train, fingers sweating against the metal he was holding onto. It wasn’t even a valid argument, honestly. He couldn’t be taken back to the night they met, nobody could. That meant nothing could change the outcome of where they are now. So why worry about the “what ifs” and focus on the “what next” instead? 

Right?

That’s what Hajime tried telling himself. 

Or more like the little Tooru on his shoulder that liked to pop in every once in a while to give his two cents had told him that. (Hajime liked to believe that this was proving that Tooru was probably the devil in disguise all along like he had thought.) 

Even as he packed his overnight bag in his bedroom, it was all he could think about. 

  
What was he supposed to do now?

***

It was approximately 8:32 PM by the time Hajime had wound up knocking on the door to the Oikawa residence. The walk had only been five minutes, considering they lived two houses down from one another. Hajime  _ had  _ tried to come in time for dinner, but his dad had asked for help fixing something, so he and Tooru had compromised for at least him staying the night. After a light rap on the door, he was greeted with a warm envelope of Tooru’s mother.

“Oh, Hajime!” She wiped his hair from his forehead and lifted him up slightly, despite her short stature. It was obvious that his friend had inherited his height from his father, but his strength was undeniably his mother’s. 

“Hi.” He melted into the familiar arms, and rested his chin on her shoulder as he crouched slightly. Tooru had noticed and leaned against the door with crossed arms and a smirk. 

“Ah, seems like you’ve finally decided to join us.” Hajime brushed past his shoulder as he entered the house, slipping his shoes off before giving a small greeting to Tooru’s father who had been resting with a newspaper on the couch.

“I’m going to drop my bag off.” Hajime jerked his finger in the direction of down the hall and Tooru nodded in agreement. 

Hajime stood in the door frame for a moment, the room so oddly familiar, yet different. Remnants of old volleyball posters still on the ceiling and walls, the light smell of that one shampoo that Tooru swore by, and the light blue curtains that didn’t block anything out, but danced when the window was slightly ajar. Hajime recalled their sleepovers, many sleepless nights shared between the two of them, their company just being enough. Lost in thought for a moment, he felt a pair of arms snake around his waist.

“Hey,” Hajime whispered softly at the weight behind him.

“Do you remember that night? The one I was talking about earlier at the cafe?” How could he not? The thought had been gnawing at him since the afternoon. 

“Of course, dumbass.”   
  
“What do you remember?” The question danced through Hajime’s brain, although there wasn’t a clear answer, because really, he remembered everything. 

“I remember,  _ you _ being the one scared,” They were swaying slightly now, creating a rhythm with their heartbeats. “Because you fell off the swing, despite your mom warning you not to jump off. You were afraid no one was there, and your eyes filled with these giant streams of tears. Then of course I helped you, because that’s always been our thing I guess. And maybe if I could go back in time, I could’ve told myself not to ride along with you because of all the future messes I would have to clean up.”

Tooru stifled a giggle, loosening his grip for a second. “Anything else?”

“You came over that night, and asked my mother, ‘Can I see Iwa-chan? He was really, super scared at the park earlier, and I wanted to visit him’. But I think it was obvious when you came in, snotty nose and all, who was the one who was actually scared.” Hajime smiled fondly, remembering his mother holding back a fit of laughter, and wiping all the tears off of Tooru’s face, trying to assure him that his friend was fine. “Why are you asking?

“I want to be taken back to that night. The night we met.”

“Why?”   
  
“Because I think you every now and then, Hajime. We used to be together all the time, I had all of you. Then most of you, then it became some of you, and now  _ none  _ of you. What am I supposed to do when the ghost of you still haunts me at night, Hajime?”

The words sunk into Hajime’s skin because he would never admit it aloud, but somewhere deep down inside of him, he had been feeling the same way for these last nine years.

“Tooru, I-” Tooru’s hands tightened their grasp, and Hajime couldn’t find the courage to say the words he needed, or more so  _ wanted,  _ to say. 

“Can we stay like this for a bit?”

“Of course.”

Their small movements dissolved into them standing stagnant, both afraid to utter a single word. Hajime felt familiar calloused fingers curl around his own. And there was so much Hajime knew he wanted to say. So much he wanted to do to catch up for lost time these last nine years. But there was this wall. He wasn’t sure what it was, but this invisible fortress of pent up emotions that he couldn’t get past no matter how hard he tried. 

Hajime loosened his fingers, and pushed Tooru slightly to the surprise of both of them.

“I-I should go change.” Hajime turned around and took a small step backwards, afraid to be too close. Tooru sucked his cheeks in and nodded before swallowing at nothing. 

Hajime grabbed his pajamas from his bag, and shut the door tight behind him as he leaned against it. What the hell was he supposed to do? Now that they were reunited, all of a sudden it felt like he was doing something wrong, or maybe there was something wrong with him.

Emerging from the bathroom with his clothes from the day tucked underneath his arm. Tooru had also changed, and had been fidgeting with something as he sat on the edge of his bed, the objecting shining brightly when the moonlight had hit it. He looked intently at it, his face hard to read. Hajime stepped slowly, the old floorboards creaking below him. 

“Oh, Hajime!” Tooru stuffed whatever he had been playing with into his right pocket. 

“You okay?” Hajime kneeled onto his futon and sunk into the mattress. 

“Yeah, just thinking about,” Tooru’s breath hitched as he caught himself. “Stuff.” Hajime blinked. He spoke the same way he did the night before at dinner, with this concealment that the two had never used with one another before. 

  
“Ah. Okay.” Hajime laid down, resting his head on his right arm. Tooru rolled over on his own bed as well, their backs facing one another. As soft snores came from above, Hajime tried to lull himself to sleep. But his eyes stared blankly at the ceiling above, wanting whatever  _ this  _ feeling in his gut was to go away like Tooru had done all those years ago. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading again! as always, kudos and comments are always appreciated :))
> 
> the night we met- lord huron https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtlgYxa6BMU


	3. day 3

Hajime awoke to the soft giggles outside the door. One was obviously his friend, the voice recognizable from miles away. The other was feminine, but he ruled out Tooru’s mother, as it was a voice that he had never heard before. As he got up, he noticed that Tooru’s sheets had already been folded and tucked neatly, but his closet was in disarray. Hajime brushed it off as an old neighbor, not bothering to change into a new set of clothes, sufficing with an old high school shirt and sweats. He glanced at his phone for the time, and realized he got a new email from the cafe he applied to. 

  
  
  


_ Dear IWAIZUMI HAJIME, _

_ Congratulations! You have received the opening as a barista at the  _ _ Owl Coffee Bar and Co. Your work will start immediately, your first shift being tomorrow at 10:00 AM. We at the Owl Coffee Bar and Co. appreciate you taking the time to try and apply your skills in our cafe.  _

  * _Owl Coffee Bar and Co._



He smiled to himself and pumped his fist in the air. He doddled to the living room to tell Tooru, forgetting about the woman for a brief moment.

“Tooru, I got the job!”  But as he stepped into the living room, Hajime could feel his cheeks burn up, feeling as if he walked into something he wasn’t supposed to. Saving the details, let’s just say that he felt like he needed a  _ very  _ cold shower. 

“Ah, Iwa-chan! You’re awake.” Hajime tried to go back to the room quietly, but Tooru had noticed him and grinned sheepishly. 

“Yeah, but you guys, um, seemed to be in the middle of something, I’ll come back la-”

“Are  _ you  _ the famous Iwa-chan Tooru’s always talking about?” He winced at the call of his nickname. Hearing the childish name from his friend was understandable. He was used to it. But a random woman he had never seen in his life? Who the hell was she?

“Of course he is, Hanami. Hajime, I think it’s time you met my girlfriend,” Hajime swallowed.  _ Girlfriend _ ? Since when did Tooru keep a relationship for more than two weeks? And why did he fail to mention she’d be here? It also dawned upon him that he looked like a wreck, which he would make sure to scold Tooru for later. “Hanami, this is Hajime. Hajime, Hanami.”

She extended her hand, and Hajime shook it slowly. The woman was pretty, obviously; silky dark hair and a petite figure. However, her personality also seemed to balance out the eccentricities of Tooru. Her presence was flowery as her name suggested. 

“Pleasure to meet you!” Hanami smiled, but Hajime could only offer a forced grin because he was reeling about this whole situation. 

“I live in Tokyo, but I had some urgent business to attend to with a friend, and I knew Tooru was also in town so I came to drop these cookies off.” The said cookies were wrapped in a heart shaped box, and she offered a chocolate one to Hajime. Hajime politely shook his head, and she shrugged before splitting it in half with Tooru. He planted a chaste kiss on her forehead.

“I saw you two days ago, babe.” Hajime nearly gagged.  _ Babe?  _ The two were leaning awfully close to one another and Hajime turned away. 

“The apartment’s lonely without you.” Hanami was practically speaking into Tooru’s mouth, but thankfully the latter pushed away. She giggled softly, and Tooru grinned back. 

“Hanami, why don’t you stay for a bit. I can make us some coffee and you guys can get to know one another!” 

“Tooru, you’re a disaster when it comes to making coffee. I’ll make it myself,  _ and  _ we’re having tea instead. You know I can’t handle too much caffeine.” Hanime placed a hand on her boyfriend’s shoulder before shuffling to the kitchen. The two friends were left to their own devices in the living room. Hajime crossed his arms and furrowed his eyebrows.

“Really?” Because that’s all he could say at this point. His voice was sharp, but he was whisper-yelling.

  
“Yes, really. Now at least fix your hair because I do not want my girlfriend thinking my best friend is a fucking brute!” Tooru’s voice was equally loud. 

“You didn’t mention your  _ girlfriend _ was coming over, so why would I bother to fix my hair?”

“I didn’t know my girlfriend was coming over, idiot! And stop accentuating  _ girlfriend _ ! Are you jealous or something?”

“Of course not! And never mind, I shouldn’t have expected that after you blatantly ignore me for the last nine years.” Hajime covered his mouth immediately. “I-I’m so sorr-”

Tooru raised his hand. “Save it.”

“The coffee is ready!” A cheery voice called from inside the kitchen, and an earthy aroma filled the room.

The trio sat at the dining table in a “u” formation, Tooru seated at the head, with Hajime and Hanami at his sides. 

“So,” Hajime took a sip from his cup, “When’d you two meet?”

“We actually both work for the same agency, so we did a couple of shoots together. Tooru over here in a  _ very  _ suave manner asked me out, after tripping on his shoe laces, and the rest of our eight months together is history.” Hanami turned lovingly and grasped Tooru’s hands. But Tooru was staring deadpan in his cup, stirring mindlessly with the small silver spoon. “Hun, you okay?”

“Huh? Oh yeah!” And there it was. The smile Hajime recognized as Tooru’s flashy and fake one. But Hanami obviously didn’t as she smiled intently again and brushed it off. 

“Lovely.” It came out more snappy than he wanted, and he realized he added more tension to the room. “You guys live together? You said something about the apartment being lonely without him.”

“Yeah, for the last three months. I used to crash at his place a lot, thought it would just make sense to live together.”   
  
“Tooru used to tell me he wanted to live with me, y’know.” Hajime knew he shouldn't have said it, but he justified it by hoping to help with this girl handle his friend. 

“That was high school, for God’s sake,” Tooru had mumbled quietly. 

“Yeah, but you would tell me, ‘Iwa-chan, you’re the only one who knows how to clean up and make good coffee for me’.” 

“Ah. Well, he doesn’t drink coffee anymore,” Hanami interjected. “We’re more of a tea kind of couple.” Hanami made her point by drinking nearly half her cup, and Tooru remained clinking his spoon against the rim of the cup.

“Well, I apologize sincerely for trying to make conversation.” Hanami sucked in her cheeks, and Hajime knew that was when he really messed things up. “I-I’m sorry for coming off that way, I really am happy for your relationship.”

  
Hanami let out a sigh of relief, but seemed to be holding back a bit. “Don’t worry about it, Hajime. I probably caught you at a bad moment.” She glanced at her phone, and adjusted her coat. “I have to get going, but it was nice meeting you, Hajime.” She waved at the two before disappearing behind the door. 

“What the hell was that?” Tooru’s voice was quiet. 

“I-I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have come off like that, I’m really happy for you, you know that. Right?” Hajime rested his palms flat on the table, and Tooru placed his hand over one. 

“I know you are. You’re probably just jealous that you have to share me with her, and yeah it’ll get taking used to, but we can make it wo-”

“Shut up, dumbass!” Hajime kicked his friend underneath the table, and Tooru stifled a small giggle.

  
“But in all seriousness, I’m not going to leave you-,” Tooru caught himself. “Yet.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Tooru waved off the thought with an ominous shrug. 

“What were you so excited about this morning?”   
  
“Oh. I actually got the job at the cafe.”

“Really? We have to celebrate!” Tooru jumped out of his seat and wrapped his arm around Hajime’s shoulders. 

“ _ Your _ idea of celebrating is getting wasted.”   
  
“Ah, you know me too well.” Tooru offered a toothy grin.

***

And Tooru stood,  _ very  _ much so corrected. Or more so  _ sat _ corrected. As predicted, Tooru was teetering on the line of being passed out drunk, sobbing into his own elbow as Hajime attempted to comfort him. 

“And then she almost  _ dies _ ! What if he wasn’t there to save her?” Tooru’s sleeve was far too wet, so he moved to Hajime’s chest to wipe his snot. 

“Oi, shittykawa!”

“Iwa-chan, what if those fireworks were the last thing she saw?” Tooru was wailing quite loud at this point, and Hajime was trying to shush him.

“Well, it wasn't, was it? She’s still alive because he saved her, idiot.”

“Iwa-chan, stop acting like you didn’t cry with me watching the movie! I was sitting right next to you and there were a lotta tissues at your feet!” Tooru crossed his arms and pouted, and Hajime chuckled before smacking his friend’s forehead. 

“You’re drunk, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I have  _ several  _ pictures that state otherwise!” Tooru reached into his pocket, fumbling to get his phone out. He shoved the bright screen in his friend’s face. Instead of a picture of a tear-stained Hajime, he was instead shown what looked like a very domestic picture of a guy sleeping surrounded by a mess of blankets and balled up tissues, with a small bar of text from snapchat reading: _ he fell asleep watching hes so cute i cant-. _ Trying to see who the guy was, he zoomed in, only to realize it was him. Hajime’s cheeks flushed pink, the dim lighting hiding it. 

“See! I’m not a liar!” Hajime wasn’t sure if Tooru’s words were  _ extremely  _ slurred, or if it was just because his head was spinning. Hajime stood up, trying to leave Tooru behind. He wanted nothing more in this moment for someone to take him away from where the music wasn’t so loud that he could practically feel it in his feet. Or was that actually his heart? 

“Hey, is something wrong?” Tooru got up far too quickly, nearly tripping on his own shoes. 

“Yeah, but you need to get home.” 

“I’m fine, Hajime! You haven’t even touched a drink!”  _ It’s because I have to babysit you, dumbass,  _ Hajime was about to say but bit his tongue.

“I have work tomorrow, dumbass. And you’re talking pretty proud for someone with weak knees right now.” Hajime shook his head lightly, but as Tooru opened his mouth to protest, his knees buckled and gave in. Hajime reached to catch him, Tooru falling directly into his arms. In a state of panic and fluster, Hajime dropped his friend back onto the loveseat. Tooru rubbed his head slightly from the panic, and Hajime sputtered out apologies. 

“I’m taking you back to your house before you throw up on the carpets here too.” Hajime hoisted Tooru over his shoulder, and despite him being quite strong, his taller friend made it difficult to leave as his feet dragged across the floor.

***

After Tooru had tripped several times down the road as they walked home, the millions of stares from patrons on the metro, and several attempts for Hajime trying to explain that Tooru was his friend and that he was not going to take advantage of a drunk man, they had finally made it to Tooru’s hotel suite. 

“God, you’re really dumb, you know that?” Hajime was panting heavily as he leaned against the door. 

“I’m sorry, Hajime.” Tooru sounded small. And before Hajime could even say anything, his friend was choking back sobs again. 

“Stop crying, I’m not mad. It’s kinda refreshing to have to look after you again.” Hajime turned away from his friend who had been stumbling to grab his keycard from his pocket, but for some reason stopped in his tracks. Hajime wasn’t exactly sure what prompted him to do so, but when he faced him to ask, he was instead greeted by a pair of lips on his cheeks. 

If you told Hajime at  _ any  _ point in his life that he would be kissed by his best friend at his door, even today, he would have slapped you and said you were crazy. 

But here he was.

The familiar smell of that one shampoo Tooru swore by closer than ever before.

It meant nothing, and it really shouldn’t have because Tooru had a wonderful longtime girlfriend who obviously made him happy. He could feel his fingers shaking, and as much as he wanted to run back to his house, his feet were planted still in the ground. 

“Tooru, I-I have work tomorrow 

Tooru tugged at the hem of his shirt. “Hajime, please stay. We can forget about the kiss or whatever, I just don’t want to be alone tonight.”

But Hajime was over this rollercoaster that was Tooru. Or more so he wanted to say he was instead of giving in again. 

“I can call Hanami and she’ll probably drop everything for you, y’know.”   
  


“I don’t want her, Iwa-chan. I want  _ you _ .” Tooru’s eyes were nothing short of pleading, and Hajime could feel himself melting. 

“Goddamnit.” He cursed himself for falling for it as Tooru opened the room with his keycard. They shuffled their shoes off before Hajime ushered Tooru to his bed. He lifted the sheets up to Tooru’s neck and rubbed the hair away from his forehead. “What am I ever going to do with you?”

“Nothing ‘cause you can’t ever get rid of me, Iwa-chan.”

“You have a life in Tokyo with your wonderful girlfriend. And I can only babysit you for so long before I get sick of you, idiot.” Lie. Hajime would never admit out loud to Tooru, but he was probably the only person in the world who he could put up with their bullshit for so long. 

“You know you love me, like I love you.” And those words really shouldn’t have meant anything to Hajime because 1) Tooru’s drunk, and 2) Hanami really seemed to love him, and Hajime would never be a homewr-

Wait.

He never loved Tooru in the first place.

At least not like that.

Right?

But watching as his best friend snored softly into his pillow, he couldn’t help but thinking “That was real sweet, but I wish you were sober.” 

It was said softly, but probably loud enough for Tooru to hear, but Hajime knew he couldn’t. With a heavy sigh, he grabbed an extra pillow from inside the closet and placed it on the couch. Soon enough he fell into a deep sleep, the smell of shampoo still present.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, thank you so much for reading! kudos and comments are appreciated :))
> 
> wish you were sober- conan gray   
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEDBZtmKPmg

**Author's Note:**

> scrawny- the wallows  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgOR698RMLY


End file.
